CCTV captures luggage theft at Dadar station

A CCTV installed at Dadar station near the ticket counter has captured unambiguous footage of a young thief, stealing a woman’s bag and making a quick dash for freedom, in a matter of seconds. The bag has important documents and cash worth over Rs 1 lakh.

1. The boy (in red) recces the foyer in front of the ticket counter at the Dadar railway station, waiting for a suitable target

On August 6, Vijaya Patil, a 45-year-old housewife, was on her way to her native town of Karad, and was about to board the train from Dadar. She was carrying the bag, which was later swiped.

“I travel alone often, and had no clue that something like this would happen,” said the wife of a former military constable. “I had borrowed money from my brother in April to pay for my daughter’s wedding, and I somehow managed to collect all the money and was going to return it. I don’t know how he came to know that there was so much money in the bag. It also contained a small purse with some more cash and also my mobile phone,” she added.

Patil’s brother Ankush Jadhav was on his way to Dadar railway station to meet his sister when he heard of the theft. “I was on my way to Dadar station to meet her, but before I could reach, I got her call saying that she had lost her bag,” said Jadhav.

3 and 4. Noticing that Patil has kept the bag down and turned her back on it to purchase a ticket, the thief speeds towards it

The railway policemen are now on the hunt for the boy, who so effortlessly stole the bag and made a swift escape from the station, within the few seconds that Patil turned her back on it to buy herself a ticket. The CCTV footage clearly shows him in several stages of the crime, dressed in malevolent red from head to toe.

5. Having picked up the bag, the boy slinks away; the victim is still busy buying her ticket, oblivious that her bag has disappeared from the spot she left it

“We have a hunch that he had an accomplice with him. In the footage we can see him making some hand gestures right after he spots the bag. Seconds later, he is making a getaway with the bag in tow,” said a GRP official.

Surprisingly, not a single person near the ticket counter appears to notice the crime even as it unfolds under their very noses. Not a single bystander reacts to the crime.

“I made the mistake of putting my bag down and leaving it unattended. I didn’t realise what was happening, and nobody bothered to alert me. I immediately raised the alarm and approached the police,” said Patil, who resides in Dindoshi Nagar, Malad.

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) that monitors CCTV footage, has given the footage to the Government Railway Police (GRP) for further action.

Officialspeak P P Kirdat, senior GRP inspector in Dadar, said, “We have registered the complaint and are in search of the boy. We have not yet found him.” Alok Bohra, senior divisional security commissioner, said, “We appeal to the public to help trace the culprit. Passengers are also advised not to leave their baggage unattended.”